![46 green](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/46_green.svg)
The 46 defense is an
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
defensive
formation
Formation may refer to:
Linguistics
* Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes
* Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes
Mathematics and science
* Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...
, an
eight men in the box defense, with six players along the line of scrimmage. There are two players at linebacker depth playing linebacker technique, and then three defensive backs. The 46 defense was originally developed and popularized with the
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
by their defensive coordinator
Buddy Ryan
James David "Buddy" Ryan (February 17, 1931 – June 28, 2016) was an American football coach in the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL). During his 35-season coaching career, Ryan served as the head coach of the ...
, who later became head coach of the
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...
and
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...
.
Unlike most defensive formations that take their names from the number of defensive linemen and linebackers on the field (i.e. the
4–3 defense has 4 linemen and 3 linebackers), the name "46" originally came from the
jersey number
In team sports, the number, often referred to as the uniform number, squad number, jersey number, shirt number, sweater number, or similar (with such naming differences varying by sport and region) is the number worn on a player's uniform, to ...
of
Doug Plank
Douglas Walter Plank (born March 4, 1953) is a former American football safety and coach in the National Football League.
Early life
Plank attended Norwin High School in North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, where he played baseball, basketball, an ...
, who was a starting
strong safety
Safety is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free safety and the strong safety. Their dut ...
for the Bears when Ryan developed the defense, a role typically played in the formation as a surrogate linebacker.
The 46 defense is most effective against the two back, two wide receiver sets that many teams commonly used in the 1980s. However, the defensive formation has been rarely used in professional and
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
since then as offenses have adapted to use multiple receiver and spread formations to counteract the 46.
Description
The 46 defense was an innovative defense with a unique defensive front, designed to confuse and put pressure on the opposing offense, especially their quarterback. Compared to a
4–3 base defense, the 46 dramatically shifts the defensive line to the weak side (the opposite end from the offense's
tight end
The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...
), with both guards and the center "covered" by the left defensive end and both defensive tackles. This front forced offenses to immediately account for the defenders lined up directly in front of them, making it considerably harder to execute blocking assignments such as pulling, trapping and pass protection in general. Moreover, the weak side defensive end would be aligned one to two yards outside the left offensive tackle, leaving the opposing tackle man-on-man when trying to block the pass rush.
Another key feature of the 46 is that both outside linebackers tend to play on the strong side of the formation. To avoid confusion, the strong and weak side linebackers (who are no longer lined up on opposite sides) are often renamed the 'Jack' and 'Charlie' linebackers, respectively. The linebackers line up behind the linemen somewhere between one and three yards from the
line of scrimmage
In gridiron football, a line of scrimmage is an imaginary transverse line (across the width of the field) beyond which a team cannot cross until the next play has begun. Its location is based on the spot where the ball is placed after the end o ...
. The primary tactic is to rush between five and eight players on each play, either to get to the quarterback quickly or disrupt running plays, although dropping some players back into pass coverage after seemingly indicating that they will blitz (see
zone blitz
In American football, a zone blitz is a defensive tactic that sends additional players to rush the opposing team's quarterback, whilst also unexpectedly redirecting a supposed pass rushing player into pass coverage instead. This tactic also likely ...
ing) is another method of creating confusion. Ryan would use all of these rushers to out-man and overwhelm the offense. Another major key to the 46 is the ability of the cornerbacks to play
man free and
bump and run coverage
Bump and run coverage is a strategy formerly widely used by defensive backs in American professional football in which a defender lined up directly in front of a wide receiver and tried to impede him with arms, hands, or entire body and disrupt ...
. Bump and run can allow the defense to take away the quarterback's immediate decision-making ability, by disrupting the timing of short routes needed to make a quick throw to beat the 46 defense.
The formation was very effective in the 1980s
NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
because it often negated a team's running game and forced them to throw the ball. This was difficult for many teams at the time because most offensive passing games centered on the
play-action pass
A play-action pass (also known as a play fake or simply "play-action") is an American football play. The play action starts with what appears to be a running play, but turns out to be a pass play; in this way, it can be considered the opposite of ...
, a situation that often favored the defense even further with the quarterback lined up to receive the snap from directly behind the center.
Currently, the 46 is rarely used in professional and
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
. This is largely because of multiple receiver and spread formations.
[Jaworski et al., pp. 189–190] The eight man line that the 46 presented was most effective against the two back, two wide receiver sets common in the 1980s.
A weakness of the 46 defense is that with eight defensive players lining up near the line of scrimmage and only three in the secondary, it leaves areas open for receivers to catch passes. Also, timed passes can be thrown before the players blitzing have a chance to reach the quarterback. When the Miami Dolphins gave the Bears their only loss of the 1985 season, Miami exploited these weaknesses with quarterback
Dan Marino
Daniel Constantine Marino Jr. (born September 15, 1961) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons with the Miami Dolphins. After a successful college career at Pittsburgh and be ...
's quick release of the ball, and their receivers' ability to beat the one-on-one coverage of Chicago's cornerbacks.
Another problem with the 46 defense is that most teams do not have enough impact players to run the 46 as effectively as the Bears and Ryan's other two major successes, the late 1980s
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...
for which he was head coach and the
1993 Houston Oilers for whom he was defensive coordinator, did. Those teams fielded some of the best front-seven defenses ever, and included such players as
Jerome Brown
Willie Jerome Brown III (February 4, 1965 – June 25, 1992) was an American football defensive tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played his entire five-year NFL career with the Eagles from 1987 to 199 ...
,
Mike Singletary
Michael Singletary (born October 9, 1958), also known by his nickname Samurai Mike, is an American professional football coach and former middle linebacker. After playing college football for the Baylor Bears, Singletary was drafted by the Chi ...
,
Steve McMichael
Stephen Douglas McMichael (born October 17, 1957), nicknamed "Mongo", "Ming" and "Ming the Merciless", is an American former professional football player, sports broadcaster, and professional wrestler.
McMichael played college football for the U ...
,
Richard Dent
Richard Lamar Dent (born December 13, 1960) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL), primarily for the Chicago Bears. He was the MVP of Super Bowl XX. He was elected to t ...
,
Dan Hampton
Daniel Oliver Hampton (born September 19, 1957) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive lineman for twelve seasons with the Chicago Bears from 1979 to 1990 in the National Football League (NFL). He was elected to ...
,
Clyde Simmons
Clyde Simmons Jr. (born August 4, 1964) is a former American football defensive end and current college defensive line coach.
Playing career College
Simmons played college football at Western Carolina Catamounts football, Western Carolina Univer ...
,
Reggie White
Reginald Howard White (December 19, 1961 – December 26, 2004) was an American professional football player who played defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons during the 1980s and 1990s. He played college football for ...
,
Otis Wilson
Otis Ray Wilson (born September 15, 1957) is an American former professional football player who was an outside linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Bears and the Los Angeles Raiders. He won a Super Bowl as a mem ...
,
Seth Joyner
Seth,; el, Σήθ ''Sḗth''; ; "placed", "appointed") in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Mandaeism, and Sethianism, was the third son of Adam and Eve and brother of Cain and Abel, their only other child mentioned by name in the Hebrew Bible. ...
,
William Fuller, and
Wilber Marshall
Wilber Buddyhia Marshall (born April 18, 1962) is an American former professional football player who was a outside linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for five teams from 1984 until 1995. Marshall played college football for the F ...
.
In today's game, the 46 defense is often simplified to its main component of walking the strong safety up to the line of scrimmage as an eighth man in the box to help contain the run. Defenses today may also run safety blitzes and corner blitzes at crucial moments without committing wholly to the "46" defense. Up front, teams still use the concept of the "T-N-T" alignment, where two defensive ends are covering (lined up directly across from) the guards, and a nose tackle is covering the center. In the case of a zone-blocking scheme, this makes it difficult for the offensive linemen to reach any of the linebackers on the second level.
Lining up
This is where defensive players would line up against a normal
Pro Set
In American football, the pro set or split backs formation is a formation that has been commonly used as a "base" set by professional and amateur teams. The "pro set" formation features an offensive backfield that deploys two running backs ali ...
offense.
* Defensive ends: The weak side defensive end lines up one to two yards outside the weak side offensive tackle. During run plays, his objective is to protect against reverses and counters. Otherwise, on pass plays, he goes after the quarterback. The strong side defensive end lines up on the outside shoulder of the strong side guard. His objective is to make sure that the offensive guard in front of him does not push him inside and does not get released to block the linebacker.
* Defensive tackles: The weak side defensive tackle lines up on the outside shoulder of the guard. His main objective is the same as the strong side defensive end – to avoid being pinched inside or letting the guard release to block the linebacker. The other defensive tackle essentially becomes a nose guard and lines up in front of the center.
* Linebackers: The jack linebacker lines up on the outside shoulder of the strong tight end and just slightly behind the line of scrimmage. This allows him to contain runs on the outside, to blitz, or to drop into multiple coverages on the pass. The charley linebacker also lines up slightly behind the line of scrimmage, but on the inside (rather than outside) shoulder of the tight end. This allows him to cover the tight end and make it difficult for the tight end to achieve a quick release. The middle linebacker lines up about four to four and a half yards behind the line of scrimmage and directly in front of the strong offensive tackle.
* Safeties: The strong safety lines up four to four and a half yards off the line of scrimmage and stands directly in front of the weak side tackle. The free safety lines up about ten to twelve yards away from the line of scrimmage and will stand directly in front of the weak side guard.
* Cornerbacks: The corners will line up on the line of scrimmage in bump and run coverage, or at times will line up seven to eight yards off of the line in front of their receivers in man-free coverage.
When three or more receivers are used by the offense, the defense makes what is called a jayhawk adjustment. The charlie linebacker will step back to where the middle linebacker was in the normal alignment, the middle linebacker will move to where the strong safety was aligned and the strong safety will move out to cover the third receiver. If the offense uses a fourth receiver, the middle linebacker lines up in front of the center and the charlie linebacker would cover the fourth receiver.
To note, there is nothing particularly innovative about this particular set of assignments. For example, the strong safety could assume either the charley or the jack linebacker role. The linebacker displaced would line up over the weak side offensive tackle, where the strong safety is normally found.
[Ryan and Walker, p. 20.]
See also
*
Glossary of American football
The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see ''Glossary of Canadian football''.
0–9
...
*
1985 Chicago Bears season
The 1985 season was the Chicago Bears' 66th in the National Football League (NFL) and their fourth under head coach Mike Ditka.
The Bears entered 1985 looking to improve on their 10–6 record from 1984 and advance further than the NFC Champions ...
References
Notes
Sources
* ESPN.com.
The List: Best NFL defense of all-time, ''
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
Page2
Page most commonly refers to:
* Page (paper), one side of a leaf of paper, as in a book
Page, PAGE, pages, or paging may also refer to:
Roles
* Page (assistance occupation), a professional occupation
* Page (servant), traditionally a young ma ...
'', Retrieved on August 22, 2007.
* ESPN.com.
Greatest NFL teams of all time, ''
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
Page2
Page most commonly refers to:
* Page (paper), one side of a leaf of paper, as in a book
Page, PAGE, pages, or paging may also refer to:
Roles
* Page (assistance occupation), a professional occupation
* Page (servant), traditionally a young ma ...
'', Retrieved on August 22, 2007.
* ESPN SportsCentury, "Bears' 46 Defense" (2004)
V ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
. Released on January 29, 2004.
* Jaworski, Ron, Cosell, Greg, and Plaut, David, ''The Games that Changed the Game'', Ballantine Books, 2010, Chapter 5.
* Schweitzer, Preston & Tornabene-Zalas, Art.
46 Defense - Correcting the Flaws (May 6, 2000), ''The Zone''. Retrieved on August 22, 2007.
* Stoltz, Jeremy.
(May 24, 2007). Retrieved on February 16, 2008.
* Tom Worgo.
A blast from the past: remember Chicago's 46 defense? It's back again—this time in Baltimore, where Ray Lewis is trying to make it hum (November 2005), ''
Football Digest
''Football Digest'' was a sports magazine for fans interested in professional American football, with in-depth coverage of the National Football League (NFL). The magazine modeled the ''Reader's Digest'' idea, to bring the best in football journali ...
'', Retrieved on August 22, 2007.
* Zimmerman, Paul.
A Brilliant Case for the Defense (February 3, 1986),
Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
. Retrieved on February 16, 2008.
External links
Chalk Talk: 46 Defense(archived)
1985 Chicago Bears Defense Playbook1990 46 Buddy Ryan Defense Playbook
{{DEFAULTSORT:46 Defense
American football formations